


The Martin Twins

by ronniebathorys



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017), Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: F/F, F/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-27
Updated: 2019-03-09
Packaged: 2019-05-29 11:53:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,073
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15072584
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ronniebathorys/pseuds/ronniebathorys
Summary: Lily and Lydia Martin return to Riverdale to stay with their cousin, Cheryl Blossom, which shakes things up for a lot of people.





	1. Chapter 1: The Return of the Twins

**Author's Note:**

> When Lydia and Lily return; some people are happy, some aren't.

Veronica Lodge was, as usual, stood at her locker with two of her best friends, Betty Cooper and Kevin Keller, when she saw Cheryl strut down the hallway. Which wouldn’t have been out of the ordinary, if it hadn’t been for the two redheads on either side of her. 

“Did Cheryl clone herself?” She questioned, pulling her eyes away from the trio as they turned a corner.

Betty and Kevin turned to face the trio in unison, before they disappeared from sight , noticing the two redheads accompanying Cheryl.

“Oh, no.” Betty muttered; she pulled her books closer to her chest, squeezing the tightly. 

Kevin shook his head with a wide smile, his eyes were shining with glee. “Oh, yes.”

Veronica looked between them with a confused look in her eyes. “Who are they? And what’s the big deal?” She asked, watching as Kevin’s smile grew wider and Betty’s frown deepened into a scowl. 

The three of them turned down the hallway, towards the opposite direction that the redheaded trio had taken, and walked directly into the student lounge. The lounge empty; with the exception of Archie and Jughead, who were sat on either end of one of the couches; Archie was playing on his phone and Jughead was reading a comic book; Midge Klump was also curled up in the corner of the room, reading a book and talking to Reggie Mantle.

“They’re Cheryl’s cousins. The one on the left, that was Lydia, and the one on the right was Lily,” Betty said, taking a deep breath and turning back to face Veronica, who was still looking between them with a look in her eyes that was a mix of confusion and anticipation. “Lily and Lydia moved to Beacon Hills a few years ago, they share a birthday with Cheryl and, until recently, Jason.”

“They’re awesome.” Kevin added, practically giddy; he was almost bouncing where he stood.

Betty rolled her eyes at his excitement, she expected nothing less from him. “The last time they were around, all hell broke loose,” She revealed. “What’s worse is that everyone loves them so no matter what happens, no one says anything.”

“Surely they can’t be  _ that  _ bad.” Veronica said, a doubtful look on her face. The three of them joined Archie and Jughead; Veronica took a seat on one of the armchairs and placed her handbag down beside her, Kevin threw himself into the space between Archie and Jughead on the couch, and Betty placed herself on the arm of the chair Veronica was sitting on.

Archie looked around at the three of them individually. “Who can’t be that bad?” He asked, looking at Jughead who, for once, looked equally lost.

“Lily and Lydia Martin?"

It took only a few seconds for the words to register with both of the boys. Their reactions were vastly different; Jughead groaned out loud before throwing his head into his hands, whereas Archie burst into laughter.

“No!” Jughead exclaimed, looking much more startled and, frankly, annoyed than Veronica had ever seen him. “You’re serious?”

Archie held a hand to his chest while the other leaned over Kevin to sympathetically pat Jughead on the back. “Relax, dude,” He said, after he had spent a good few seconds catching his breath. “I’m sure they aren’t as bad as you remember.”

Veronica, however, was still utterly baffled. “What makes these girls so bad?” She asked, looking around at each of them. “They’re cousins with Cheryl; they surely can’t be any worse than her.”

Again, Archie laughed, mainly at the look of horror on Jughead’s face; the sight of which even made Betty giggle a bit before replacing the smile with a serious look once again.

“They can be,” Jughead added, shaking his head in disbelief. “And they are.”

Veronica was getting tired of gaging their reactions. “Archie?” She said, getting his attention. “I want the whole story, right now.”

“Ronnie, it’s kind of a long story.”

She just shrugged, removing her jacket and settling into the armchair. “I’ve got time.” She fixed him with a look that told him that she wasn’t going anywhere until she had heard everything she wanted to know.

“Alright,” He said, taking a deep breath. “You know who they are, right? Cheryl’s cousins and everything. Well, they used to live at Thornhill with the Blossoms because their parents lived in Beacon Hills. They were practically inseparable, as well as Cheryl and Jason; they were constantly together, you wouldn’t find one without another. They, kind of, tormented most of the student body here, well, at least the people they thought deserved it.”

“Which was apparently everybody.” Jughead added, he had picked up his comic book again and was back to looking at it.

“But,” Archie continued, shooting a look at Jughead, who’s face was buried in his comic book and didn’t see. “There were some people, like Reggie or Moose, and people like that that they didn’t torment and just left alone.”

Betty decided to speak up as well. “It wasn’t always like that, though,” She stressed. “Lydia and Cheryl never liked us, but Lily, at least, used to be friends with us.”

“You?”

They all let out a small laugh; Archie shook his head, smiling. “Don’t sound so surprised, Ronnie, but yeah, Lily used to be our friend.”

Veronica was shocked; from what she had heard, it didn’t seem like they would be very friendly with her. “Well, what happened?”

“She changed,” Kevin added, shooting a glance at Jughead before looking at Betty for a second, he had stopped laughing and looking excited, as though he was watching one of his favourite shows unfold, and he became a little more serious. “One day she was normal Lily and the next it was like she was possessed.”

Betty nodded, moving her gaze from Veronica to the floor at her feet. “We were at Pop’s one day; Archie, Kevin, Jughead and I; and Lily was supposed to meeting up with us and when she arrived, she had completely changed, I barely recognised her anymore.”

“You’d have thought she was Jughead’s cousin, not Cheryl’s, if you’d seen her.” Kevin joked, nudging Jughead’s shoulder with his own. 

Veronica let out a little giggle of her out at the mere thought of a female Jughead. “Seriously?”

He nodded. “We were friends.”

“They were best friends,” Betty added. “They were  _ way  _ closer than you and me, but then one day-”

“They caught up to her.” Jughead said simply.

Betty took it upon herself to explain the rest. “Cheryl and Lydia knew that Lily was friends with us and they didn’t like it, they kept saying that Lily needed to surround herself with people of a higher standard.” She paused, taking a deep breath. “Lily didn’t take any notice, she loved them but she loved us too. Nothing happened for a while but when she came to meet us, it was like she had turned into them.”

“When she arrived,” Archie continued. “She didn’t say a word to any of us; she just started yelling at Betty, calling her a bitch and poured her milkshake over her.”

“It took almost two days to get out.” Betty muttered, running her fingers through her clean ponytail, as if the milkshake was still there.

“And then, what?” Veronica pressed; she was completely enthralled by this girl already. “I mean, that’s horrible Betty, but what else?”

“Nothing, really.” Archie said, rolling his eyes at Veronica’s excitement. She was almost as bad as Kevin. “That was the last time we really spoke to her.”

“Cheryl’s not the only ‘head bitch in charge’ around here, Ronnie,” Betty  **said** , shaking her head. “They’ve all got that title, unfortunately.”

They nodded. Kevin was back to bouncing in his seat, he was thrilled that they were back; where the twins were, drama usually followed.

“So,” Veronica started, recapping everything she had heard. “Lily used to be friends with you all, Cheryl and Lydia didn’t really like it so they, what? Turned her against you? How’d they do that?”

“God only knows,” Archie shrugged, briefly bringing his attention back to his attention back to his phone. “But she changed, and now she’s back.”

“Okay,” Veronica clapped, making him jump. “Anything else I need to know?”

She saw Betty exchanging concerned glances with Archie and Jughead. “What? What is it?” She asked, looking to Kevin, who looked as confused as she did. 

“V, it’s just that Lydia and Lily talk to Cheryl every single day, so they know everything that goes on here and they heard about everything, you know, your, um, rivalry with Cheryl and well, she’s never been our biggest fan but now... “ She trailed off, glancing at her best friend, warily.

Veronica shrugged, pulling her jacket back over her shoulders. “So what?” She challenged. “What could they possibly do to me?”

“They’ll destroy you, Veronica,” Jughead said. “No offense.”

“They can try.” 

“And we will, sweetheart.” At the sound of someone else’s voice, all heads turned towards the door of the lounge to see one of the twins from earlier, Veronica couldn’t tell which one it was. 

The redhead sauntered into the room, clad in an off-the-shoulder mini skater dress and black, lace-up thigh high boots, a pendant hanging from her neck with a silver topaz and gold hoop earrings. Her lips were coated in a dark pink lipstick and her nailed adorned in dark red.

“You must be Veronica Lodge,” She said, extending her hand to Veronica, who shook it. ‘Maybe as well try and be polite’ She thought. “I’m Lydia Martin, but I’m sure you’ve heard of my sister and I already.”

“I have.” 

She smiled, her eyes glancing over to the group that was silently watching the interaction. “Kevin, Archie, good to see you again,” She said, before settling her gaze on Betty. “Betty Cooper! You’re still here! I thought they would’ve shipped you off by now, but thank goodness they didn’t.”

She finally met Jughead’s gaze. “Jones, didn’t think you’d still be here, either. How’s your dad?” She asked. No one missed the cruel excitement in her eyes.

“He’s fine.” Jughead gritted his teeth, his fists clenching around his comic book.

“Good.” Lydia smiled, before returning her gaze to Veronica’s, who hadn’t left hers since she spoke. “Well, it’s been lovely meeting you, Miss Lodge, but I have to get back to my sister.”

“How long are you here for?” Betty blurted out, no one but Veronica noticed how she voice shook.

Lydia smiled a cruel smile at the blonde girl. “Indefinitely.”

“What about Lily?” Archie questioned. 

“She just went home, she’s getting all our stuff settled back into Thornhill.” Lydia answered. 

“Then what are you doing here?” Kevin asked, feeling the need to add to the conversation.

“Just getting our schedules.” She smiled

“Schedules?” They questioned, in unison. She couldn’t mean that...

“Yeah,” She smirked. “Well, you don’t think we’d go to Southside, do you? See you monday, classmates.” And with that she left, her hair swinging behind her.

“So,” Archie said, to break the silence. “We’re screwed.”

All but Veronica murmured their agreement.

* * *

Veronica wandered into Pop’s, greeting  the old man behind the bar and putting in her Mom’s order, before looking around the diner until she found who she was looking for. Jughead Jones; he was solely focused on his laptop, fingers typing away; he was too engrossed in his novel that he didn’t notice her walk up and plant herself in the seat opposite him.

“So,” She announced her presence, making him jump when he noticed her there. “I want to know more about this Lily girl.”

Jughead rolled his eyes, putting his focus and attention back on his laptop. “We told you earlier.”

“Not everything,” Veronica leant over to push the laptop screen down so that he had to focus on her. “I know that you and Lily were, like, best friends but that doesn’t explain why you hate her so much.”

“Weren’t you listening? She completely abandoned us.”

She rolled her eyes at his dramatics. “I haven’t been here long but I can tell that you’re not petty enough to hate her just because she dumped a milkshake on Betty and ditched, so spill, now.”

Jughead’s gaze focused on a spot of dirt of the table as he refused to meet Veronica’s eyes. “She was my best friend,” His voice was quiet and sounded almost small, she hadn’t heard Jughead like this, he was usually all sarcasm and dry wit. “It was like she changed overnight and I didn’t recognise her anymore; I told her everything, about my mom and dad and my sister, and she just turns her back on us like that.”

Veronica nodded as she grasped what Jughead was trying to say. “You’re angry at her because you trusted her and let her in and she left you, and now she’s back, you don’t want to have to see her everyday and know that you’ve lost her.”

He didn’t say another word but the look he shot her made Veronica realise that she had guessed correctly. 

“Order for Lodge.”

Veronica stood up and grabbed the ‘to-go’ bag from Pop’s before making her way out of the door. She had the feeling that things were about to get a lot interesting.


	2. Chapter 2: She Doesn't Seem Too Bad

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Veronica meets Lily, and she doesn't seem too bad.

When Monday finally rolled around, Veronica, unlike her friends, was actually excited to meet Lily. Betty and Archie had spent, pretty much, the whole weekend warning Veronica not to cross Lily’s path. Again, Veronica doubted that this ‘Lily’ girl could possibly be as bad as she was made out to be. She understood what it was like to have people think of you in a certain way, whether it was the truth or not, so she was definitely intrigued. 

She was lost in her thoughts when her locker slammed shut in front of her, Veronica turned towards the person that now stood next to her, it was one of the redheads, for a moment she thought it was Lydia again.

“Hi!” The girl smiled, her brown eyes were shining. “I’m Lily.”

Veronica studied the girls face before replying, she seemed nice enough, however, so did Lydia. “Veronica.” She said, before extending her hand towards the red-haired girl.

Lily turned towards a locker, three lockers down from Veronica, and started turning the lock. Veronica took this time to take in the girl, she was wearing a short, black wrap skirt,  a black and white striped crop top and a pair of strap heel sandals. Her lips were coated in a dark, sort of, blood red colour and her nails, that had finished turning the lock, were matte black. Her hair, a strawberry blonde colour, opposed to her cousin’s vibrant colour, was loosely curled and pinned back. She wore a pair of black pearl earrings and a pair of round sunglasses placed on top of her head.

“So, I heard that you’ve met my sister, already.” Lily mentioned, she kept her gaze inside of her locker. 

“I have,” Veronica started, unsure where the conversation was currently going. “I met her on friday.”

Lily laughed at the tone of her voice. “I’m sure that was just delightful for you. How long have you been in Riverdale, then?”

“Not long.”

“I assumed so,” Lily said, as she turned to face Veronica with a smirk adorning her red lips. “I’m definitely sure that I would’ve remembered you.”

The raven-haired girl couldn’t control the blush that had erupted across her cheeks. “Why did you leave? Betty’s told me a bit about you but she never said why you left.”

The bright smile immediately slipped from Lily’s face. “It’s, kind of,” She paused. “Complicated."

“I like complicated.”

Lily glanced back at her locker for second. “I should probably get to class, I would love to stay and chat but I’ve got Barnes first thing and he’s always hated me.”

Veronica was a bit disappointed that she wasn’t able to find out more about her but she perked up when Lily mentioned Barnes. “What a coincidence,” She said, a smirk on lips. “So have I, and I’m partner-less.”

Returning the smirk, Lily closed and secured her locker, looping her arms through Veronica’s before they took off towards the classroom. “Well, then, it looks like we have a class to get to, Miss Lodge.”

“I believe we go, Miss Martin.”

* * *

Betty Cooper was sat with Kevin Keller in their first class of the day, biology, and she couldn’t focus for the life of her. Probably because she hadn’t seen Veronica all day.

“Kev,” She called, in an attempt to pull his attention away from the behind of a bulldog to listen to her words. “Have you seen Ronnie today?”

“Nope,” He said, shrugging, turning his attention back to its previous position. “Maybe, she’s just late.”

“Maybe.” She repeated, not entirely believing it. She was worried about Veronica. What if she had decided to confront Lydia, after all? The blonde wasn’t too worried about Lily doing anything, not straight away at least; even with her makeover, she wasn’t the most confrontational person. Besides the diner incident, that is.

Betty’s thoughts came to an abrupt halt when she saw Veronica stroll through the door, however, the smile and relief that was building up in her quickly disappeared when she noticed that her arms were linked with none other than Lily herself.

“Is that…?” Kevin asked, trailing off when he noticed the stern look on Betty’s face.

Betty clenched her fists as she watched Veronica pull Lily to an empty two-person desk near the front of the classroom. “Yes.” She answered him, sharply, glaring forward at the back of Lily’s head. 

“What the hell is she doing?” She hissed out, eyes still shooting daggers into the back of the redhead.

“I’m sure it’s nothing bad, Betty,” Archie interjected from the desk to the right of them, where he sat with Jughead.

“But she’s,” Betty struggled to find the right word. “ _ Lily _ .”

The others shook their heads at her; Archie and Kevin turned their attention towards the board where Mr. Barnes had written his question of the day. “It’s been a long time, Betty,” Jughead said. “She’s probably over, whatever it was, and wants to move on.”

“No way, it was too big of a reaction for her to just be over it now,” She insisted. “And out of all people, she chooses Veronica to befriend? That can’t be an accident, Juggie.”

“Did it ever occur to you that she just wants to make a friend?” Cheryl interjected as she walked past the desk with Lydia. “You know, Lily’s always been the nicest out of us, it would make sense.”

Betty opened her mouth to disagree but Cheryl and Lydia walked away before she had the chance and Mr. Barnes called for the classroom to settle down. She was still going to find out what Lily wanted, she didn’t trust her. 

* * *

“What the hell, Veronica?” Betty exclaimed, as she walked towards their table in the cafeteria. Veronica, who was sat down, next to Kevin, with Archie, Jughead and Reggie opposite her, looked up, confused, when she saw her blonde best friend storming towards her.

“What’s up, B?” She chirped, pushing her food around her plate. Veronica glanced up at Betty as she did so. 

Betty looked at her incredulously. “I don’t know, V,” She said, sarcastically. “It might have something to do with your new best friend.” How could Veronica not realise?

“What are you talking about?”

“Lily!” She exclaimed, her arms crossing tightly over her chest as the volume of her voice raised, her eyebrows twitched in anger.

“Yes?” Lily asked, as she walked up from another table, with a tray in hand. She smiled at Betty when she reached her. Betty wanted nothing more than to slap that smile right off her face.

Betty looked between Lily and Veronica, shocked. “Nothing, don’t worry about it.” She snapped. She moved her gaze from Lily to Veronica, and fixed her with a hard stare.

“Okay, then. I’ll see at practice, Ronnie.” She smiled, before walking back to join her sister and cousin, where they sat with some people Betty didn’t know the names of, as well as Moose, Midge and Reggie, who waved Lily over and shuffled up along the bench to make space for her.

“Practice?” Betty asked.

Veronica nodded, rolling her eyes. “Yes, Lily and Lydia have joined the Vixens. Lil’s gonna be co-captain with Cheryl.”

“Lil?” Jughead repeated, wondering if he heard her correctly. “You’ve got a nickname for her now?”

“Why not?”

“Because she’s Lily,” Betty huffed, resisting the urge to clench her fists or pull on her hair. “She made our lives hell and you’re just, what, best buddies with her now?”

“Look,” Veronica began, pulling her jacket over her shoulders and standing up. “I know you don’t like her but she’s never done anything to me to I’m going to decide how I feel about her for myself and so far? I like her, she seems nice enough. So, yeah, for now, she’s my  _ friend _ .”

“No,” Betty said, reaching a hand out to grab onto Veronica’s arm when she turned away. “Not okay, she’s  _ evil _ .”

Veronica couldn’t help but roll her eyes. She loves Betty to bits but sometimes she went a bit too far. “Well, until she’s proven that to me, in the slightest way, then I’m not going to hate her.”

With that, Veronica walked away, desperately ignoring the look of disbelief plastered across her best friend’s face. 

Betty turned to face the rest of her friends, a look of shock across her face. “I’m going to find out what she wants with Veronica,” She announced, ignoring the sight of Kevin and Archie rolling their eyes at her. “Juggie? Wanna help?”

He shrugged before grabbing his bag. “Sure, got nothing else better to do.”

After they walked off, Archie turned to Kevin. “This is going to be a disaster, isn’t it?” He asked, even though he already knew the answer.

“Absolutely.” He answered, clearly excited.


	3. Chapter 3: Jealousy and Revelations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Veronica tries to convince Betty to talk to Lily, while a new couple emerges - revealing long held secrets and broken hearts.

It had been almost three weeks since Betty had vowed to convince Veronica that Lily was bad news. She hadn’t given up or let up in any way. Kevin and Archie had made it quite clear to the blonde that they wanted absolutely nothing to do with it. Jughead was, of course, helping her with her quest, even if he wasn’t that interested in Lily’s motives.

“I swear, she’s hiding something, V!” She exclaimed to her best friend, when they were stretching, after they arrived in the gym for practice. Betty could practically feel Lily’s eyes on them, she refused to meet her gaze, though, scared she would say something she would regret; either to Veronica or Lily, herself.

Veronica, once again, shook her head at her best friend’s nonsense. “Stop it, Betty,” She said, staring at her. She loved Betty but she was starting to seriously get on her nerves with her crusade. “You might not like Lily but I do, she’s been nothing but kind to me since I met her.”

“She’s just-”

“No, Betty, that enough,” Veronica cut her off. She pushed herself up onto her knees. Veronica had only known Betty for a little while but she could already tell that she would never quit when she had an idea in her head. “I’ve been trying to understand why you hate her and yeah, maybe she  _ did  _ hurt you but she is genuinely trying to be a good person. I understand that.” She took a deep breath before continuing. “Just give her chance.”

“I can’t do that,” She said, adamantly. “She hurt me, Ronnie!”

“Then, at least, get her side of the story.” She stressed, sitting back down to finish her stretches. “You both deserve that much."

Betty didn’t say anything after that, she just resumed her stretches until Cheryl called for practice to start. She wanted to give Lily another chance, she really did, but, as far as Betty was concerned, there was too much bad history and time passed to just forgive and forget. She looked over at the redhead, who quickly averted her gaze away from the pair and turned to face her sisters, who immediately engaged her in conversation.

* * *

Lily was in the locker, after practice and after everyone had already cleared out. She didn’t know what was going on with Veronica and Betty, and it was worrying her a little bit; she didn’t want Veronica to end up getting hurt. 

She pulled her normal top over the head and moved her gaze out of her locker to see the latter of the two rushing towards her; her blonde hair, still in her distinctive ponytail, swinging behind her.

“Lily,” Betty called out, as she came to a stop right in front of her. “I need to talk to you.”

“About what?” She asked, rolling her eyes. “You’ve already made it pretty clear how you feel about me.”

“Veronica,” She took note of the way Lily’s eyes lit up at the sound of her name. “Look, I know we’ve got our differences, but we both care about her, right?”

Lily nodded, closing her locker and turning to fully face the blonde. She thought of the raven-haired girl that she had quickly become very close to.

“So,” Betty suggested. “I think that we should, at least,  _ try  _ and act civil, for her.”

The redhead nodded, reluctantly, in agreement. “I just want to know one thing,” She began, calmly, no sign of anger or resentment in her tone. “Why do you hate me? I know what I did was bitchy but after everything that happened? How could you blame me?”

“You didn’t even give me a chance to explain!” She exclaimed, taking a step forward.

“Explain what?” Lily huffed. “Look, all cards on the table; I like you, I think you’re great. You’re passionate, you’re protective, I have to admit; I really admire you - always have, but you broke my heart, Betty Cooper and nothing’s going to change that.”

She looked at Betty, desperate for a response.

Betty opened her mouth but nothing came out, and Lily took the silence as her answer. “Goodbye, Betty.”

Lily quickly picked up her bag from where it lay on the floor at her feet and walked out of the room, not wanting to have to stay and face Betty for any longer.

The blonde reached her hand out after she watched Lily leave, her tears that were threatening to fall were saying everything she wouldn’t allow herself to. And she wanted to say so much but nothing, absolutely nothing, came to mind.

* * *

“Hey, Ronnie?” Veronica’s head shot up when she heard a voice call out from behind her, she turned around in her seat, in her usual booth in Pop’s, to see Lily walking towards her.

She smiled widely at the redheaded girl, noticing that she had changed out of her Vixen’s uniform into a black jumpsuit; a pair of black, suede, heeled boots; and paired that with a black velvet jacket. She also wore a plain, black choker around her neck as well as a pair of black onyx earrings, and hanging from her shoulder was a black, chanel handbag.

“Hey, pretty girl, what’s up?” She asked, taking a big sip of her chocolate milkshake as Lily sat down opposite her, dropping her handbag beside her. 

Lily shrugged. “The usual. You?” She said, pulling Veronica’s milkshake towards her and taking a sip as well.

“That mine, you know,” She teased, laughing after Lily shrugged, flipping her hair over her shoulder, and smiled around the straw. “Just thinking.”

“Must be pretty serious.”

“Yeah,” Veronica was finding it hard to breathe, she took note of the way Lily’s hair looked more of a strawberry-blonde colour in the diner lights; more so than its usual red colour. “It’s just stuff I’m dealing with.”

“Anything I can help with?” She nearly melted; she wanted anything, even the smallest, slightest reason to hate this girl, bu she had none whatsoever.

“No,” She smiled, shaking her head and looking down at the table. “It’s just something I’ve got to figure out.” At the look of doubt on Lily’s face, she continued. “I’m okay, pretty girl, I promise.”

“Okay.” Lily still looked unconvinced but relented, dropping the topic for the moment.

“Anyways!” Veronica clapped, successfully changing the subject. “Why are you dressed up all fancy? Got a hot date?”

“Yes, actually,” Lily blushed, brushing her hair behind her ears. “I mean, at least, I think it’s a date .”

Veronica was taken aback for a moment, not expecting her to actually say yes. “Well, who’s the lucky guy? Or girl?”

“Well,” She spoke, hesitantly. “It’s, um-”

“Me.” A voice behind her interjected. Veronica turned out, another time, to see Reggie Mantle walking towards them. He, too, was dressed up quite smartly, Veronica could barely recognise him without his typical bulldog jacket.

“Reggie?” She voiced, shock evident in her tone. “I didn’t expect, um, you two?”

“Yeah,” Lily’s cheeks erupted in a blush again, looking up and meeting Reggie’s intense gaze. “We started talking after after, a few weeks ago, and it just went from there, I guess.”

Both of the raven-haired teen couldn’t help but smirk at sight of the blush coating Lily’ cheeks, however, each was for different reasons.

“You guess?” Reggie teased, running his hand over the back of Lily’s space in the booth. “Way to knock a guy down.”

“Shut up!” She exclaimed, trying to hide her burning cheeks behind her hands. “Anyway, we’ve gotta go, Ronnie, we’re going to get some food and go to the drive-in. See you tomorrow?”

“You bet.” Veronica smiled. She watched as Reggie wrapped an arm around Lily’s waist and directed her in the other direction.

She was so focused on the pair that she had barely even noticed that Betty walked up and sat herself in Lily’s previous seat. “V?” She called, trying to get her attention.

“Hey, B,” Veronica said, forcing herself to try and smile. “Did you and Lily get a chance to talk?”

“Yeah,” Betty looked down at the table, focusing on a spot that had chipped off slightly over time. “It’s difficult, V, but I swear I’m trying.”

“I know.” She reached across the table and took Betty’s hands in hers, rubbing her thumb against Betty’s.” I know, B.”

Betty and Veronica were reluctantly pulled from their silent conversation when they heard Lily let out the most adorable giggle either of them had heard. They both turned around to face the couple that were not stood by the counter, waiting for their food.

Lily was so focused on the tall, raven-haired boy that held her that she didn’t noticed the gazes of the raven-haired and blonde girls.

Both girls couldn’t help but stare at their embrace with envy.

Betty stared until she felt her nails digging into her palm, and looked down and saw that she had crescent-shaped marks in the palms of her hand; she glanced over at Veronica and saw that jaw was clenched tightly and she had her milkshake in her hand in a death-like grip.

“Ronnie?” 

“Yeah?” Veronica answered, still not moving her gaze from the couple, or relenting her tight grip on the milkshake.

“How long?”

“‘How long’ what?” She plastered a false-confused expression on her face.

Betty immediately fixed her with a hard stare. “How long have you liked her?”

“Two and a half weeks.” Veronica admitted, swirling her straw around her glass.

“Four years.” Betty breathed out.

Veronica finally puller her gaze back to her best friend. “Really?”

“We were friends, remember?” Betty hinted. “And, I mean, who wouldn’t?”

“Oh,” Veronica quickly realised what Betty wasn’t saying. “B. I-I-”

“Yeah, hey, Pop,” She called over to the man behind the counter. “Can I have my usual?”

“‘Course, Betty.” He smiled before turning around and writing her order down.

Veronica went to say something else when she noticed Betty’s gaze had moved back to Reggie and Lily. The raven-haired girl turned around and her heart ached, Reggie was holding Lily’s waist tightly and pulling her to him as he kissed deeply her. She watched Lily’s hand glide up Reggie’s chest and wrap around his neck, pulling him closer.

“Not in public, lovebirds!” Moose called out from a seat in a booth, a few down from where Veronica and Betty sat, with his arm around Midge’s shoulders.

The sound of Moose’s voice and laughter pulled Reggie and Lily away from each other, both smiling widely. 

Betty and Veronica both followed the couple with their eyes, as Reggie grabbed their food from the counter and guided  Lily towards the door.

The two girls looked at each other again, an unspoken agreement to not ever mention the tears that were threatening to fall from both of them; they smiled in understanding and mutual pining, knowing that they would never have the girl they wanted.


	4. Chapter 4: Party Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reggie and Lily are officially a couple, which Betty isn't too pleased about. Also, the Blossom/Martins throw a party, and things are just getting started.

“Betty!” Archie’s shot up from his guitar. He had been trying to focus for almost half an hour, at this point. “Would you let it go, already!”

The blonde looked at her friend in shock. “It isn’t supposed to be like this, Archie!” How could he honestly think that Lily and Reggie was a good idea.

“What  _ is  _ it supposed to be like then, Betty?” Kevin chimed in, annoyed; even  _ he  _ was starting to get irritated by Betty’s constant yammering. “It doesn’t matter, they’re a total power-couple.”

“Power-couple? Seriously, Kevin?” She rolled her eyes, trying to brush off his attitude. “Lily and Reggie can be a lot of things but a power-couple? I don’t think so.”

“I could see it.” Jughead had taken a momentary break from shovelling burger after burger into his mouth.

“Juggie.” Her mouth fell agape. If anyone was going to be on her side about this, surely it was going to be Jughead.

The beanie-clad boy nonchalantly shrugged his shoulders. “It’s a good thing, Betts, this way they’re both out of our way and we don’t have to deal with either of them, you should be happy about this.”

“Besides,” Archie said. “They’ve been together for, like, months now, can’t you just get over it?”

Betty opened her mouth to respond but nothing came out; Veronica, seeing her chance to add in her two cents, responded instead. “What I think Betty is trying to say is that we’re worried, right, Betts?” She looked over at the frustrated blonde. “We care about Lily, and even Reggie to some extent, so if they’re happy then we should support them.”

“But-”

“And we’re  _ going  _ to support them.” Veronica said finally, with a hard glare in her eyes as she settled them on Betty’s annoyed frame. 

“Want to know what I think?” Kevin asked, rhetorically. “I think you’re jealous.”

“What?” The blonde recoiled, frowning. “Why would I be jealous?”

“Because you like Lily and you hate that you missed your chance.”

Betty was about to speak up and defend herself against the absurdity of his comment when Reggie sauntered over to the table, everybody sitting up and acknowledging him; even Jughead who greeted him with a head tilt. 

“Everyone, Jones,” He grinned.“I’m having a party this weekend, well, Lily and the others are so you guys in? I already know you’re coming, Jones.”

“Sure,” Veronica said, cheerfully, looking around the table. “Right, guys?”

She received nods and noises of agreement. 

“Awesome,” Reggie smiled, again. “Also, the twins might be inviting some friends over; ones that don’t go here, just a warning.”

“Why would that concern us?” Betty was confused. 

He shrugged, unconcerned. “Just letting you know, see you there.”

When he walked away, Betty turned to Jughead. “What did he mean when he said he already knew you were coming?”

“He came by the White Wyrm with Lily, turns out her and Toni are pretty close already; because of Cheryl, and she asked us,” He shrugged, picking up his burger again. “Sweet Pea and Fangs think it’ll be a riot so why not?”

* * *

By the time that Veronica, accompanied by Betty, Archie and Kevin, arrived at Thornhill; the party was in full swing.

“Why did we agree to this again?” Betty whined, reluctantly letting Veronica pull her into the house. Betty was fully prepared to refuse to attend the party but Veronica, being Veronica, was quite insistent; meaning that she personally barged into Betty’s bedroom, raided her closet and threw clothes and shoes at her before sitting her down again and doing her hair and makeup.

Kevin walked alongside them, dressed up as well. He had one reason for going to the party and one only; get over Moose Mason, preferably by getting under somebody else. “Because it’s party and we’re having fun, you do remember fun, don’t you?”

“Yeah, but-” Betty cut herself off, her lips forming a thin line when she saw Lydia saunter over to them, her usual smirk adorning her face.

“About time you got here,” She spoke, her gaze drifting over them before landing on Veronica. “Especially you. My sister’s been waiting for you to show up all night.”

Veronica didn’t even try to hide her smile at her words. She was glad that the raven-haired jock was making Lily happy, regardless of how desperately she wanted to be in his place, and she knew Betty did as well.

It looked like Lydia knew as well, by the way she was looking at Betty. 

“Well,” She clapped, excitedly. “Punch is over in the corner, by the table; just let Moose know if you want a certain song, or whatever; and have fun. Oh, and by the way, upstairs is off limits.”

They all turned to walk into the living room of the party before Lydia quickly grabbed Betty by the forearm. “Not you, Cooper,” She hissed, before pulling back and plastering a fake smile on her lips. “I need to talk to you.” She didn’t say anything else as she pulled Betty down the hall towards her bedroom and ignored the desperate looks she shot back at her friends. 

Archie looked between the living room and Lydia pulling Betty along with concern. He knew Lydia wouldn’t  _ physically  _ hurt Betty but who knows what she could say to her. 

* * *

“Now, sit,” Lydia instructed as she closed the door behind Betty, pointing to her bed. “I’ve noticed your, shall we say, feelings towards my sister’s relationship.”

“I don’t know what you-” She tried. 

The red-headed girl raised her hand, to silence Betty. “Don’t try, Cooper; I’m sure you’re still a good person, or whatever, but you should know that I will never, in any way, let  _ anybody  _ hurt my sister.”

Betty watched as Lydia tried to control her anger. “I’m aware of that, Lydia. I never wanted to hurt her but-”

“No,” She said, harshly. “It doesn’t matter what she  _ wanted  _ to do, you hurt her. I’m always going to put her first and I’m always going to protect her and make sure she’s okay, regardless of the consequences, is that clear?” Lydia’s voice had dropped so low that every word she said sent a wicked shiver down Betty’s spine.

The blonde nodded frantically. She didn’t know Lydia well, personally,l but she knew enough that she was aware that it wasn’t a good idea to push her, especially when it came to Lily.

“So,” Lydia smiled, seemingly doing a complete 180 from the threatening persona she had just exerted. “I think I’ve made myself clear enough, we should forget that there’s party down the hall; let’s not spend the  _ entire  _ night in here, shall we?”

Betty nodded numbly before standing up and returning to the party; still trying to wrap her head around Lydia’s words. 

Veronica let herself let loose as she danced with Kevin, trying to keep his attention which didn’t seem to working as his eyes kept drifting over to a Serpent in the corner, clad in his signature leather jacket. Which one was it? Sweet Pea? No. Fangs, was it?

She was going to speak up until she saw Betty walk towards her, looking like she’d seen a ghost. “Girl,” She said, quickly grabbing her arm and pulling her outside, where she saw Chuck and Archie downing drinks after drinks. Gross. “What did Lydia say to you?”

“It doesn’t matter, Ronnie,” Betty shook her head. “Lydia’s acting weird, there was something else wrong. It’s not just about Lily.”

“Maybe she just hates you?” She suggested, unhelpfully. 

Betty ran her fingers through her hair. “No, there was something else; come on,” She signaled for Veronica to follow her and she quietly walked down the hallway she had seen Lydia go down. 

She lifted her finger to lips; telling Veronica to keep her mouth closed, she inched the door open slightly and Lydia’s voice floated clearly through the air. 

“It looks like we’re gonna be here for a while, Scott.” 

‘Scott?’ Veronica mouthed to Betty who shrugged in response. Who was that?

They heard Lydia huff in annoyance, before she cursed under her breath. “I thought everything was alright, though? Kira sai-”

After a moment’s pause. Lydia spoke again. “Cherry needs us; if you want my help, you’re gonna have to come here. Lily’s finally starting to act like herself again.”

“I don’t care if Derek doesn’t like it. He can kiss my ass, he knows she comes first.” Veronica and Betty both wished that they could hear this ‘Scott’ person or, at least, know who he was.

“I guess I’ll see you monday, Scotty,” Lydia sighed when she pulled the phone away from her ear. 

The two girls rushed down the hall back to the party, praying that they didn’t get caught. They looked at each other with concern and worry evident in their eyes; whatever was happening was something big. They could tell that much from the sound of Lydia’s voice and the worry on her face when she rushed into the room, searching for her sister’s face; assuming to fill her in on the details of her conversation with this ‘Scott’ guy, whoever he was.

The music screeched to a stop as she ran towards the speakers and pulled them out of the wall; everyone’s eyes shot to the frantic girl stood next to them. “Where the  _ fuck  _ is my sister?” She yelled, desperately.

Every person in the room glanced around and Y/N was, in fact, nowhere to be seen. 

And neither was Fangs.


	5. Moodboards

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Not an actual chapter, but one is coming eventually.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I made these a while a ago when I was planning out the series and I thought you guys might like to see them; as time goes on, I may add some more.
> 
> Also, the first moodboard is Lydia, the second is Lily.


End file.
